Patricia Cornwell Extends Contract With Penguin Putnam

Patricia Cornwell,
the bestselling author of the
popular Dr. Kay Scarpetta novels, has agreed to pen two
new Scarpetta books for her publisher, Penguin Putnam,
it was announced by Susan Petersen Kennedy,
President of the company. Cornwell's novels are
published in 34 countries
and 31 languages. Her novels have been #1 New York Times
bestsellers in both hardcover and paperback in the United
States. There was speculation in the book industry about whether
Cornwell would continue with Penguin Putnam after
Phyllis Grann, its CEO and President, left the company
for Random House.

Patricia Cornwell said, ``Putnam has done a wonderful job for
me. Why would I want to be published anywhere else?''

To date Ms. Cornwell has written eleven Kay Scarpetta
bestsellers, the most recent one was The Last Precinct
which was published by Penguin Putnam in hardcover in
2000 and in paperback last year. Her current bestselling
hardcover book, Isle of Dogs, a new novel featuring Andy
Brazil, was published in October of 2001 and was also a
#1 New York Times bestseller.

Susan Petersen Kennedy said, ``Patricia Cornwell has been
a part of our publishing family since 1995 when we published
the paperback edition of The Body Farm which became a #1
New York Times bestseller. In the following year we began
publishing both her hardcover and paperback books and right
from the start we all knew it was a perfect fit. Patricia
is one of the most gifted, modern day novelists in the
industry. We deeply admire her brilliance and talent, and
are repeatedly awed by the depth of research she personally
conducts for her books. She is very highly regarded by us
all and we are very happy to be working with her for many
years to come.''

The two new Scarpetta books are in addition to the two as
yet-to-be published Scarpetta novels and the one non-Scarpetta
novel Cornwell already has under contract with Penguin
Putnam. In addition she is currently working on a non-fiction
book about her research on the famous Jack The Ripper case,
which was the subject of a recently nationally televised Diane
Sawyer interview with Cornwell. The Jack the
Ripper book is due out in the fall of this year and the next
Scarpetta is scheduled for publication in 2003. Cornwell's
hardcover books will continue to be published under G. P.
Putnam's Sons and the paperback editions under Berkley Books.

A former award-winning police reporter for the Charlotte
Observer, Ms. Cornwell worked for more than six years as a
computer analyst in the chief medical examiner's office in
Virginia, where she witnessed hundreds of autopsies and
even assisted as a ``scribe,'' recording the measurements
of the wounds of murder victims. During that time she was
also a volunteer with the Richmond Police Department, and has
spent time with law enforcement around the world. Those
experiences inspired her to create Dr. Kay Scarpetta, a
tenacious chief medical examiner of Virginia who tracks
serial killers in the novels.